Conflicted
by Quinny1317
Summary: Sokka is confused... He finally finds out why, and his emotions take their toll. Zuko finds out, and he is shocked... But he accepts. So when dreams intervene, and the fire nation comes calling, can they stay together? Zukka. 1st chap rewritten! ON HIATUS
1. Contradicted

**Author's Note: Sorry that I haven't updated anything recently, but I've really been working on videos the past few months. Go to livevideo and search for the user Quinny1317 if you wanna see em. This story was just a quickie that I wanted to do because I was bored and I need to get rid of some of the stress of being single for almost 3 months. R&R please. And also, don't flame me for making Sokka a waterbender, I know that, sadly, this is not the case. It just makes everything a lot more interesting.**

**  
SPOV**

I hate him. I always have… I don't know why I always hated him. I just did. Maybe the fact that he humiliated me in front of my entire tribe. Maybe it was just that he was firenation. But I hated him. I hated that he had won over our group, and that he had been let in to teach Aang firebending. I hate that he always yelled at me whenever I made some wisecrack, which are ALWAYS funny, by the way. I hate that he had a smug smirk whenever there was an awkward silence after one of my jokes. I just… I hate him. And I always will.

So as I sit there, by the moonlit pool in the middle of the Western Temple, I contemplate why I hate him so much. Katara had humiliated me in front of my entire tribe. The people from the first village we visited were firenation, and I didn't hate them. Aang had won over Katara, and although I was skeptic at first, I accepted him, as I accepted Wong, who had tried to teach Aang firebending as well. Katara always yells at me after a wisecrack, and she almost always has a smug smirk on her face when I make a fool of myself… Zuko hasn't done anything wrong…

I dug deeper.

I looked as far into my soul as it would allow me, searching the cavernous empty void for anything that might tell me why I hated Zuko…

Pictures flashed in my mind, ones of Zuko smiling, his handsome face looking at me, eyes glinting with… with what? Love?

I closed my eyes…

I shook my head angrily…

No. No. NO, my mind screamed the word over and over again. I couldn't be in love with Zuko. It wasn't possible. A tear formed in my eye as I thought about it, but it never got the chance to fall down my face. I couldn't cry. I was a water tribe warrior... But I was just covering up my heart, layer after layer of cold, harsh hatred hardening into an impenetrable mantle. But Zuko had melted that mantle, had forced me to open up… I couldn't stand it.

Jumping up angrily, my hands cupped my head as I shuddered, fury ringing through every choked gasp. "NO!" I screamed, the word echoing throughout the vast fissure that we resided in. I flung my head backward so I was gazing at the stars and I threw my hands down to my sides. Warmth spread through them at this, and there was a loud crash behind me. My hands and jaw still clenched, I turned to see a wave of ice sitting in the pool, looking as though it was about to crash backwards. "Wh--… what?" I whispered out curiously, allowing my hands to unclench. The ice unfroze and splashed back into the pool.

"Hey," a voice yelled out, and I glanced over to the edge of the temple. There, watching me, was Zuko, head cocked to the side. "What the hell are you screaming in the middle of the night for, and way out here?" he asked, a slight pang of anger in his tone.

"Stay away from me," I said, pointing a trembling finger at him, my entire body shuddering, sobs still waiting to break down the temporary, flimsy barrier I had erected in my mind. Tears still glistened in my eyes, ready to break through. But I wouldn't let them break through. I still had my dignity. In fact, I planned on keeping it for a long time.

Zuko's angry scowl transformed into a look of shock, and his eyes took in everything about me, analyzing the situation. "Wait, Sokka, are you okay?" Zuko asked, concerned, reaching out an arm and walking over.

"I said to STAY AWAY!" I screamed out angrily, backing up further towards the edge of the temple. Sobs were mounting, and were just about to break free, and it wasn't helping that Zuko was moving ever closer.

"Sokka, what happened?" he asked, eyes filled with concern for the other warrior. They had grown closer ever since Zuko and Aang's visit to the sun temple.

"Leave me alone," I whispered, tears again waiting in my eyes, "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" I roared this time, imitating Katara and flinging his arms from one side to the other, a stream of water flowing from the pool and flying toward Zuko.

The firebender's eyes widened and he whipped his hands forward, a large fireball emanating from them and evaporating the water. "Sokka," he yelled. "Tell me what's wrong."

"NO!" I screamed, falling to my knees. I couldn't take this. I wasn't in love with Zuko. I couldn't be. He was my opposite… Shudders took control of me, and I just lay there, trembling, no tears coming down my face... I couldn't cry. I just couldn't.

Zuko didn't hesitate in running over and hoisting me up. "Sokka, talk to me, tell me what's wrong, and why you never told me you were a waterbender. I want to HELP." His voice was soothing, but it was also very forceful. It enraptured me, and I knew that as soon as I regained the ability to speak I would succumb to his sweet voice. And probably end up crying. How undignified was it, to be a water tribe warrior, and end up becoming a quivering wreck in front of a firebender? I would never live it down… But the way Zuko held me, supported me, and waited for me was just too… too… too caring. He wouldn't rat me out. I knew he wouldn't. And so, with a hiccup, I ended up just trembling as he sat there, curious golden eyes staring into mine.

"What's wrong?" he said quietly, almost grimly, "and why are you out here so late?" I sighed quietly, still trembling from the revelation that I didn't dare accept, and from the utter shock of my control of water.

"I… I came here to think." I said, hiccupping again, but covering up as though I had to cough.

"About?" Zuko pressed, his voice like silk as it flowed to my ears, begging me to tell him everything.

"About how much I hated you…" I replied, and he recoiled from me, eyes taking on a hurt, angry look. They narrowed, and he tensed, as if about to conjure a ball of fire in my face.

"And how that was just a disguise, a façade that I used to hide the fact that I was... I was...," I couldn't bear to get the words out. It was too difficult. I began to tremble again, and I couldn't help but look up at Zuko's firm face and think that I couldn't tell him. It would be unfair to the both of us. I couldn't tell him! It just... It would ruin everything.

"Hide what," Zuko questioned tentatively, oddly wary of where this was leading to. If Sokka said what he thought he was going to say, then they would definitely have a real problem.

"To hide that I was in love with you," I finished, unable to keep myself quiet. My emotions had spoken for me, and I looked away sadly, humiliated and shameful of my feelings. Zuko immediately softened, but was still wary. 'Could this be true?' he wondered. Zuko felt blood rush up to his face, turning his pale cheeks a dark crimson red, as though he had been humiliated. Inside of him, turmoil was raging, feelings revealing themselves... He saw his father, laughing at him hysterically at the prospect that he might like another man. Zuko clenched his jaw. He couldn't. It wasn't fair. It couldn't happen. He didn't love Sokka. He barely even like the boy. They TOLERATED each other, and that was basically the extent of their relationship at the moment. How could he possibly feel more about the boy in front of him. Letting out his held breath, he considered what he had to do.

"No," Zuko announced firmly. "You can't love me. That's not... That's not possible," he said, a small undercurrent of desperation running through his tone. But he kept it in check. He would be humiliated by everybody in the firenation if anybody were to figure anything out. But there was NOTHING for them to figure out. It wasn't going to happen. It never could.

"But I do," I said, just as firmly, standing up and scowling, much like he was. "I do, Zuko," I repeated. He clenched his jaw and turned his head to the side, hands balling into fists, bright blue fire emanating from them. "And if you're trying to intimidate me with your 'Super-Fire-I'm-Gonna-Kill-You-If-You-Don't-Do-It-My-Way' look, it's not working. I'm not afraid of you. I love you," I said, anger forcing the words out of my mouth. Emotions had taken control of my mind, and I was no longer doing anything of my own accord.

"NO," Zuko roared out, his arm coming up so that his hand was pointing on me. The bright blue fire still licked around the pale flesh, seeming eager to eat away at something. "You can't be in love with me. You're a... a... a guy! It' just... It's wrong!" he yelled, the fires intensifying in the dark night. The entire pagoda was lit up with it's light.

"Think what you want," I muttered quietly, "But I know the truth." I walked away from him then, sitting back down at the edge of the pool, hand dipped into the water as I thought about everything. I could feel his eyes boring into the back of my head, but I ignored it, waving my hand contemplatively through the water, the clear liquid making tiny ripples whenever I moved.

Zuko stood there, forehead scrunched up into a scowl, flames licking up the entire length of his arms, brain running through everything that had been said. Did he feel the same way? Could he feel the same way without feeling guilty of everything? Growling quietly, Zuko closed his hands, snuffing the fire out so that the only thing remaining was a small curling wisp of bluish smoke, illuminated by the bright moonlight. Why couldn't things be easier? Blood pumped through the firebender's veins as he considered the implications, debating himself and favoring both of the conflicted sides. Sure, the water tribe boy was very handsome, and could be considered attractive by both girls AND guys, but he was still a guy. There was nothing more to say. It was considered disgraceful. It was unheard of... And yet, Zuko couldn't help but see how the muscles of Sokka's back easily rippled as his arm swayed through the water. Growling again, he made up his mind.

He came up to me and wrapped his arm around me from behind, crossing it over my chest as he leaned his head close, cheek resting against my own. I relished the closeness, but couldn't help but wonder what the hell he was doing. Shouldn't he have blasted me into oblivion by now with his newfound affinity for fire?

"If you're going to be so goddamn stubborn about it, then I guess I have no choice but to agree with you," he announced quietly and my eyebrows raised, my mouth opening slightly in shock. I turned to look at him and he flashed a cocky, quiet smile at me, much like the smile I had seen in my mind… only better, considering it was a mere inch from my own smile. His mouth came closer even, and he whispered something else. "So how come you didn't tell me you're a waterbender?"

A smirk on his face, he pulled away, watching me intently, finding it funny that he had shattered the romantic moment. I growled inwardly. We'd have to work around those kinks in his personality. Then again, I wasn't without my own flaws.

"I didn't know myself…" I said quietly, and imitating one of Katara's forms once again, I pulled a small orb of water out of the pool and held it in my hand. The only reason I knew all of this, all of the forms, was because I had longed to have such power. I constantly watched Katara, mimicked her, attempting to trigger the waterbending skill that she had. There was something about waterbenders that was special. Their powers were triggered only after they had gone through an extremely traumatic experience. Mine was realizing I was in love with Zuko… Katara's was when our mother died. She had gotten so riled up, had been so angry that she had shattered about half of our little island. I had nearly triggered it when dad had left us to fight with the Earth Kingdom… but it just wasn't enough.

Closing my eyes and bowing my head, I clenched my fist, remembering when my dad left, and how much it hurt me. I had almost triggered it again when he had gotten hurt, and then again when we had to leave him behind. The ice froze above my clenched hand and I sighed, allowing myself to relax. The ball resumed it's liquid state, and I tossed it back into the pond. I finally had power. Being limited to mere weapons wasn't enough… I couldn't do as much as Katara, or as Aang, or Toph or Zuko. Benders were the epitome of combat… Not warriors. And now I could actually be of use to the gaang. Smiling quietly, I looked up to Zuko's curious, cocky, contemplative, and confused face.

"You've changed," I remarked. Normally Zuko would be scowling. That was the only expression to be found on his face before he had gone to visit the sun temple. Rage had fueled his firebending. But now it was life, and light, and strength that allowed him to bend. He had attained peace. And, much like Azula, he could probably bend electricity now too. I made a mental note not to get on his bad side.

"I have... but I'm not all that sure if it's for the better," he said quietly, remembering when Katara had accused him that he hadn't changed at all… He had tried to hurt her… He HAD hurt her. They were on tentative grounds now, and he was trying hard to get her trust, but she wouldn't have a bit of it. Maybe when my sister found out that we were dating she would feel a bit better… or become even more suspicious of his intentions.

Best to keep it a secret for now.

And so I walked back to my room, happily in Zuko's arms the entire time.

**Author's Note: DAMMMNNN. Long first chapter. And I'm happy that I put Zuko and Sokka together… I might continue this story, but only if I get 5 reviews on this chapter. Please!!!!!! Lol. Thanks! And also, tell me how you like the idea of Sokka being a waterbender. I feel special that this is probably one of the few stories out there that has him like that!! And yes, this is the edited version of my first chapter, considering people said that it was a bit too OOC, Zuko was too caring, and Sokka was way too un-macho. I tried to fix it, making it so that Sokka was hesitant in unveiling his feelings, and so that Zuko would refuse them at first. Thank you for the constructive criticism, it really helped to make my story better! Lol. Peace.**

**Your loving author,**

**--Quinny**


	2. Indicted

**Author's Note: Wowww. It only took me two days to get seven reviews. That's awesome guys! Thanks you all so much. And the reason that I didn't really draw Sokka and Zuko's relationship out much was because it was originally designated to be a oneshot… I'm sorry that I didn't make Sokka more macho about his feelings, but you gotta look at it this way. He's in love. With a firebender. With the enemy. How traumatic would that be? Lemme answer it for you. VERY traumatic. So, I'm going to put a lot of spin on this, so that it's more interesting, and now, since you guys gave me the five reviews, and more, I'm going to make it longer. Don't worry, the relationship won't be one of those boring perfect ones where all you can think of is "WHY WON'T IT END." I'll have twists. Lot's of pretty twists. XD. Lol. But yes. Please R&R this chapter for me. I will be eternally grateful. HUGS! ( . ) **

**2****nd**** Person**

That night, Zuko had a nightmare.

He stood there, on a stone outcrop, over a battlefield, riddled with dead firenation soldiers. And there, far on the other end, stood his father, glaring at him.

"This is your fault," the voice boomed. "You have betrayed your nation, your very element. And your treason does not just go as far as helping the enemy. You are sleeping with the enemy too!" the voice continually yelled out, surprisingly loud despite the distance between them. Zuko narrowed his own eyes, hands tensed to spring to his blades.

"I haven't done anything with him!" Zuko screamed back, fire in his words… why was he objecting again? Why should he even care what his father thought about him? He shouldn't… but he did.

"Oh but you will. And how disgraceful is it that your partner is another man?" his father sneered. Zuko flipped his blades out, arms tensing and fire… blue fire… springing up along their length.

"I love him," Zuko growled out between clenched teeth, seething that his father would be so critical of him.

Ozai cackled.

"You don't know anything about Sokka. You don't know what he has been through. All the pressure. All the traveling. All the hurt and the pain. And you obviously don't know what I have been through during my travels. All the failed attempts at catching the avatar. All the desperation in my hopes to retrieve my honor, when honor was only a twisted, mangled, disgusting thing you used as a motivator for me. I will never deal with you, or your chastising of me, EVER AGAIN," Zuko roared those last two words with all his strength, and spun a full circle, whipping his blades back out in front of him as electricity crackled up the metal, zapping out of the tips to fly across the battlefield.

Zuko woke up in a cold sweat, panting as he sat there. The sun was only just rising, and he settled down. What was happening to him? Was he second guessing himself? Questioning his "love" for Sokka? When had he even decided that he was in love with Sokka? Did he even know what the word truly meant, and what it actually felt like? He knew that what he felt for Sokka was something totally different than what he felt for Mai. But was it LOVE?

He sighed quietly and closed his eyes, resting his head in his hands as he contemplated the chaos raging inside of him…

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

That night, Sokka had a nightmare as well.

He stood there, on the tip of a shiny crystal outcropping, deep underneath the city of Ba Sing Se. He watched, anger spiking inside of him, as his sister and Zuko battled with all of their hearts. He watched as she masterfully controlled the water around her, and then was shocked, rage flowing through him, as Azula blasted through the clear mantle, Katara flying backwards, hair coming undone as she hit the ground.

Zuko grinned.

"HOW COULD YOU!" Sokka screamed out, jumping down from the outcropping, running over to his sister.

"How could you," Zuko muttered back. "How could you understand? How could you ever comprehend what I've been put through by my father? I have to do this," he said, looking down at the water tribe boy with disgust.

Sokka growled quietly, teeth clenching as he stared at Zuko, who had turned back to watch as Aang rushed toward them on a mound of moving stone. This wasn't somebody he loved. This was a monster… and this was who Zuko really was.

"You'll pay," Sokka whispered, malice dripping from those syllables in an almost tangible form. With a spin, he brought a large river of water from the stream at his left, allowing it to flow around him before flying at Zuko. His fists clenched and they turned into icy shards, eager to embed themselves in pale firebender flesh.

Sokka woke up in a cold sweat. He gulped in lungfuls of air, trying to cleanse his mind of what had just happened. Had that actually occurred? Had Zuko really done this? Had he tried to kill his sister? Had he tried to kill Aang as well? A person like that couldn't possibly just have an epiphany… They couldn't just have a change of heart. They couldn't just apologize and then hope that everything would be okay…

And he had announced his love for this demonic… thing. He had lied to himself… Sokka clenched his jaw and furrowed his brow… Why did life have to be so unfair? He had just found somebody, somebody he could really relate to, rather than Suki or Yue, where there was barely a spark. Sighing angrily, he rested his head in his hands as he contemplated the chaos raging inside of him.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

The sun rose on a bleak day, one without much promise. The sky was clouded over, as though the gods themselves sensed the turmoil about to befall this small group.

The entire gaang slowly made their way to the center temple, Zuko coming there last. He gave a bright smile… but there was a quirk in it. There was something odd about his smile… It was a bit too cheery. Even for his new demeanor. Almost as though he was hiding something… But of course nobody noticed that. Katara was busy ignoring him, Sokka was sitting at the edge of the pool, hand dipped in the water, and Aang, Toph, and Haru were practicing their earthbending. Nothing all that interesting. Zuko nodded at Katara, who looked in the other direction, waved at Toph, but she didn't notice, considering that she was busy, and she was blind, and then he went over to sit next to Sokka.

The water tribe boy tensed.

Zuko raised a single eyebrow, but Sokka gave a weak smile in return. Zuko yanked him by the arm in the direction of the eastern inverted pagoda.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Zuko began. "What's wrong?" he asked quietly. His eyes were stern. His voice was firm and settled, pushing Sokka to give the truth.

"I had a nightmare…" Sokka whispered, looking back into Zuko's eyes with just as much ferocity. He had remembered the events. He had remembered what Zuko had done. And he knew that it had actually happened. "I was in the old catacombs of Ba Sing Se," he continued. "And I saw you. And Azula. And Aang and Katara. I saw you hurt her. I saw you grin. And even worse… I saw that you were a monster," Sokka continued, tone ominous. "How could you be so cruel?" he inquired, rage whispering in the undercurrents of his voice. "How could you hurt my sister? She trusted you!" Sokka said louder, much more angry.

"Ugh. Not you too," Zuko groaned loudly, smacking himself on the forehead. "LISTEN TO ME," he said, grabbing Sokka by the shoulders. The water tribe boy's arms flew into motion, drawing a ball of water from the pool in the center of the temple.

"Don't. Touch. Me," he said, deliberate emphasis on each word.

"I'VE CHANGED SOKKA," Zuko yelled. "And I'm tired of beating myself up for you, for your sister, and for everybody else! I was troubled. I had problems. And my father ended up being a pitiful wreck, and I found out that I never needed my honor from him. I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT I WAS DOING," he said angrily. "And if you can't see that, then I don't know who could," he whispered, sadness and fury ringing through his voice. Then, he proceeded to stomp off in the direction of the center temple, thinking of the most grueling firebending lesson to teach Aang.

Sokka narrowed his eyes and allowed the water to fall from his hand.

And then he proceeded to stomp back to the center temple as well, but only after making sure than Aang and Zuko had left. He wasn't in the mood to fight with the firebender in public. Especially when he was trying to keep what could have been under wraps.

Sitting down by the pool, he looked at Katara. She raised an eyebrow. He glared. She backed off.

"So, Sokka, what do you want to do today?" she asked lazily, looking at her nails. Toph rolled her eyes and walked off lazily, her feet almost totally healed thanks to Katara's amazing waterbending prowess. Sokka sighed.

"I have to talk to you about something," he said quietly. She glanced up, sensing the importance of his tone, and waiting for him to continue. Sokka stood up slowly, and with tremendous effort, he drew a ball of water out of the pool. It appeared that whenever his emotions were at extremities, he could bend much easier. Interesting… Katara's eyebrows went up even further, and her hands dropped to her sides.

"Uh… Umm… We-Well… Um. Okay," she stuttered out, breathless. When had this occurred? Like everybody, Katara knew that waterbending was triggered by extreme trauma. She knew it better than anybody. But what she didn't know was what her brother could have gone through that could possibly have triggered this. It took something devastating, something horrible, to be able to initiate the locked chi. "What happened?" she asked quietly, and Sokka understood exactly what she was asking. But luckily, he could lie to her easier than he could lie to Zuko.

"We had to leave dad behind…" he whispered quietly, pretending that it was much more terrible than it was, dropping down to his knees and leaning back against pool's wall. He looked down, eyes cast over with a haze, cloudy with regret. Leaving his father behind HAD hurt him, but not this much. He knew that they would find him again. But he had to make it believable.

"Sokka, it's okay," she whispered, walking over, acting the caring mother part all over again. He inwardly smiled. Too easy. He looked up at her quietly, eyes sullen, and she smiled.

"Come on," she said, pulling him up to his feet. "We have work to do," she pulled him away with a wide smile on her face. Waterbending training had begun.

**Author's Note: Okay. There it is. Happy? Sokka is pissed that Zuko hurt his sister and intended to kill Aang to restore his honor, and Zuko is pissed that Sokka won't believe that he changed. Better? More macho for you? I admit, I made Sokka more manipulative in this chapter, what with him tricking Katara into teaching him waterbending, but it was necessary. Love can make you do crazy things. Especially to your family. Lol. But yes. I'm done with chapter two, and I'm looking forward to all the reviews that you are going to type for me! Thank you!!!! Peace.**

**Your loving author,**

**--Quinny**


	3. Depicted

**Author's Note: Okay guys, I know it IS a bit cliché, and I'm sorry, but I'm somewhat out of twists. The moment I said to myself that I needed twists, I totally blanked. –sigh-… I guess I'll make it up as I go. I gotta come up with something really smart for this story. And again, I'm sorry that Sokka is a waterbender and all, but I just like him better that way. He seems so much more awesome when he can kick your ass WITHOUT the sword. I don't know why… But yes. I'll try to get the story back on track, try to make it better. But you guys have to tell me what I can do to make it sound better. Help me out with the twists. You have no idea how much your input really helps me. Thanks! R&R. Peace.**

**2****nd**** Person**

"Get it right!" Zuko yelled angrily at the scowling boy in front of him. Aang wasn't very good dealing with fire, what with the trauma it had caused him when he had first tried to learn it. Zuko growled quietly before spinning around, left foot swinging in a backwards roundhouse and right fist following right behind it. Blue fire roared out from both appendages, scorching the target to a crisp. "It's fire, avata-… Aang… It's not water. It's not about flowing with the movements. Fire is all in the breath. Not in the rigidity, or the shifting of the weight, or in concentric circles. It's breath. You have to BREATHE." He said this less forcefully, urging Aang to understand that it wasn't about combining everything from his previous teachings. It was something totally new. Totally different.

Aang sighed quietly before putting himself in the stance, taking deep, slow, deliberate breaths. Zuko nodded once before stepping back to allow Aang a view of the target, which was an old tree stump, almost read to wither away. Closing his eyes, he willed himself to control the fire, to use his breath as the power, as well as remembering that fire was life and strength, not rage.

His eyes shot open, and his fist flew forward. Bright yellow flame flew from his fist, singing the target, not as bad as Zuko had, but it was a start. He looked up at his master, beaming.

Zuko nodded solemnly. "Now that you have mastered the simple strike, I suppose you should learn another simple strike. One you should deal with just fine, considering you are the avatar, and all about balance of oneself and all the elements. Time for lightning," Zuko remarked dryly, a smirk on his face as he turned, spinning his fingers in a complex form around him before shooting them forward, electricity crackling through the air to blast the target off of the temple.

Aang's eyes widened.

Zuko smirked.

This wasn't going to be fun.

* * *

Sokka growled at how difficult this was becoming. Katara made waterbending look so goddamn easy! She moved the water around her while he struggled to maintain an orb in the middle of the air. An orb that didn't move. Grunting and struggling, Sokka began to flop his arms around helplessly, and the water fell to the ground with a splash. Katara withheld a giggle.

"You have to think of the water as though it were a part of you. Let it flow with your body. Shift your weight through the stances," she explained, moving through the form she was trying to teach him, drawing a ball of water from the pool as if it were the easiest thing in the world to do. And to her, it was. "You just need a little practice," she said, smiling softly at him.

"Stupid… -grumble-… magic… -grunt-… water…" Sokka muttered underneath his breath, along with a couple obscenities that would be best not mentioned.

He flowed through the stances as Katara had, and allowed the chi to flow through his body, hands gaining a warm, prickly feeling as the water flowed out of the pool and into his hands, masterfully moving along with his motions. He smirked at Katara as he allowed the water to flow back into the pool.

She smirked back and began a complex form, bringing a large, twisted stream of water out of the pool and above Sokka's head. With a downward thrust of her hands, they turned into small spikes and flew down toward Sokka, impaling the ground all around him.

"And now, ice," she said in a scary, brightly innocent voice.

He groaned inwardly.

* * *

"Okay, so lightning is all about balance. Yin and Yang. The difference is, that when you are bending electricity, you are separating the two. Electricity is the result of when the two come crashing together. AND REMEMBER. You do not control the electricity. You are merely its guide. If you try to control the electricity, it will control you. And if it controls you… you die. So, let's get started, shall we?" Zuko's entire speech was ominous up until the last sentence, and by that time, Aang was looking at Zuko almost as though he had three heads.

"Okay, look. Lightning really isn't that difficult. You just need balance within yourself. And you, being the avatar, must have that down already. It's very easy. Easier than firebending if you know what you're doing. Just guide it. Allow it to flow through you… but not through your heart. If it passes through your heart, then you WILL be killed. But don't worry about that. That is only if you are transitioning the lightning, which is much more complex bending than you need to know right now."

Zuko smiled and backed up, hands clasped behind his back as he watched Aang prepare himself.

With a deep breath, Aang squatted, his right hand spinning around in a circle, two fingers extended. Bright blue light resonated from the two fingers as they circled him, and Aang smiled. It wasn't that hard. He started with his left hand, mimicking the yin and yang symbol with his hands. Eventually he brought his fingers together at his chest, and he could literally feel the power gathering there. With a smirk on his face, he shot his right hand out, two fingers extended… And a fireball blew up in his face.

"Too cocky," Zuko remarked out loud. Aang shook his head to get rid of the ringing as he sat there, 10 feet behind where he had been standing. "To bend lightning, you must have BALANCE. In ALL of your emotions. Arrogance must be balanced with an equal amount of modesty. You were too confident. Up until the last stance, you had done perfectly. Well done… for a beginner," Zuko smiled and nodded his consent in Aang's direction, despite his obvious failure of the strike. Aang scowled and allowed his shoulders to slump.

This wasn't going to be easy…

* * *

"Ice is the harsher, stronger, more rigid form of water. You must have strength to be able to bend ice. Not physical strength," Katara remarked when she saw Sokka glance down at his arms. "Spiritual strength." Katara smiled quietly and redid the form they had worked on, pulling an orb of water from the pool. Tensing all the muscles in her hand, the water froze into a ball of ice, and she flung it in Sokka's direction.

Eyes widening, he flung his hands forward, allowing his chi to take hold of the ice, and by merely relaxing his suddenly tense hands, he turned the ball of ice into a ball of water.

It splashed into him anyways.

"Good," Katara laughed. "Now, after you turn the ball back into water, you're supposed to catch it. It's easier than catching it while it's still ice, because then your movements would have to be more rigid to control it. Waterbending is a complicated art." Katara pulled another ball of water from the pool. It hardened, yet again, into a ball of ice, and she flung it at Sokka.

Smiling quietly, he took a different approach. Hopping to the side, Sokka pulled a stream of water from the pool, and with every ounce of physical, mental, and spiritual strength, he flung it in Katara's direction.

With a smirk, she spun around in a circle, arms following her as she allowed the water to drop back into the pool.

"Very good," she remarked, nodding her consent in his direction. "But remember, balance is key," she reminded him, for that was the mantra of all waterbenders. Balance. Balance in everything that they do.

Sokka smiled.

He had forgotten all about Zuko.

* * *

"Okay, now try the strike, but remember. No emotion. Or rather, if you find it easier: balanced emotions. I think it is cleaner and easier to have no emotions, but that is just me. Lightning requires you to be cold. Feel nothing. Fell nothing at all," Zuko said, and once again, he stepped back, watching as Aang resumed his stance.

Two fingers yet again circled him, and yet again they were lit up with a bright blue light. But this time his face was stoic. Just as stoic as when he had been talking to Ko. Another hand was added to the form. Fingers touched in front of Aang's chest, and this time, with cold, relentless, determined eyes, Aang shot his right hand forward, two fingers extended.

Lightning rocketed through the air to blast into their new target. The stone wall shattered under the sheer power of the attack. A smirk engulfed Aang's face.

"VERY GOOD," Zuko remarked loudly, a smile gracing his own face. He had taught the avatar something. And not just something. Something useful. Aang could one day use that exact form, and Zuko would be able to say, "I taught him that." It was a feeling like no other. But now that he knew the basic strikes, Aang would have to understand the other side of fire. Safety. As Aang had learned before, and not understood, he would have to learn now how to control fire, how to keep it from destroying everything in sight. Balance.

* * *

Sokka sighed quietly as he sat on the edge of the pond, a smile on his face as he spun his hand in circles, the water in the pool beckoning to his call and rising into his hand. Today had redeemed itself, despite the fact that it was still very gloomy out. He had begun his waterbending training, despite the tediousness of it all. Katara had congratulated him on a job well done for his first day, and allowed him to leave. And here he was, playing around with water in the Western Pagoda.

Thoughts ran through his head. Confusing thoughts. Zuko had hurt his sister. That was the gist of it all. But there was something else underneath it all, something that he couldn't detect, that he couldn't uncover. What was it? It felt like he himself had been hurt, as though Zuko hadn't blasted flames at Katara, and scorched her, but had blasted flames at him, and they had burned him alive. It was as though he was dying on the inside, for no apparent reason other than the fact that he liked Zuko. More than he should. Much more than he should.

It was so unfair… Why did things have to be this way? Why couldn't they have been in a different time, a different place? A different world. With different circumstances. Why couldn't Sokka just… let it go?

And so he settled for playing with the water. All alone in the western pagoda. On that dark, gloomy day.

* * *

Zuko had dismissed Aang for the day. The boy had done well for his first official lesson. Already he was lightning bending! Zuko hadn't even begun to start that until… Until 2 weeks ago!

With a sigh, he made his way to the eastern pagoda, and he sat on the ledge on the end of the pool, staring into it's enigmatic depths. Thoughts ran through his head, and he sighed.

Sokka didn't believe him.

Sokka didn't believe that he had changed, that he no longer meant harm, and that he wasn't as troubled as he used to be. So Zuko, being the idiot that he was, had broken the entire thing off, whereas, instead, they could've acted like a normal couple and sorted through the problem… But that was a part of the problem. They weren't a normal couple. A firebender and a waterbender? Both of them men?

Zuko sighed quietly from his perch on the wall, and began to spin his hand in circles, blue fire raining softly from it towards the ground. It relaxed him for some reason, to know that he had regained the 'noble' ability of blue fire. It was said to only be given to the strongest benders. The prodigies. It was the reason why Azula had it, as well is his grandfather Azulan. Iroh had once had blue fire. But, sadly, after his son died, something inside of him died as well. He was never able to bend the blue flame again.

Jaw clenched, Zuko closed his fist, the rain of fire stopping as he sat there. He looked up in the sky, staring at the ominous clouds. All alone in the eastern pagoda.

On that dark…

Gloomy…

Day.

**Author's Note: A tad melancholy, I'll admit, but I think I am regaining my ability to write good chapters. It took me forever to train myself to make my chapters not only long, but also full of detail, and not the very 'beat around the bush' type deal. I'm glad you all like the story, because it is taking a lot of time away from my videos. Thank you again for all the reviews, and I hope that you will review this chapter as well! Tell me what you think. Tell me what you want from this story. I'm open to all types of reviews. Even flames, cause then I know that I have a lot to improve upon, which is never bad news for a growing writer. Thanks for all the support! Peace.**

**Your loving author,**

**--Quinny**


	4. Evicted

**Author's Note: Yes, yes, I know that I haven' updated this particular story in god knows how long. But I am on a writing spree and I seem unable to stop. I resumed Peace and Power. I began revising and modifying Jealousy. I feel like I'm on a roll, and that I should milk it for everything I can. And that would include an attempt at finishing "Conflicted." I hope that you like this chapter. And as a gay man myself, I must tell you that it wasn't EXTREMELY difficult to accept who I was. You were complaining that Sokka accepted it pretty fast. The problem is that it's not something sudden. It builds up. Your doubts. Your possible hopes. Your curiousness. It's not a snap revelation. And gay men can be macho too, like Sokka… wishes… he could be. :P W/e tho. For now, just enjoy and review this chapter for me. Oh yeah, and slight Toph bashing later on, if you squint really hard. It has to do with hair puffs. : )**

**3****rd**** Person**

Sokka muttered a few profane words under his breath when he was woken in the middle of the night. A figure stood over him, arms crossed, her hair wavy, eyes glinting. "Get up," she said stoically. No emotion. Sokka cocked his head, and stood up as he was told. The figure pointed up into the sky. There, shining brightly and illuminating everything in the temple, was the full moon. Katara's eyes sparkled again. "Do you feel it?" she asked, not even bothering to clarify what she was talking about. But Sokka knew.

Inside his veins was that same prickly feeling that he felt when he bended, magnified by a hundred. It was so intense. He could feel the power reaching out to every miniscule piece of his being, to the very tips of his fingers. Katara led him away from the sleeping others to the Western Pagoda, where the extremely large pool of water awaited them. She placed herself into a stance, and pulled nearly half of the water out of the deep well, allowing it to come full circle around her in a large stream. She was only moving her hand. She wasn't shifting her weight. She wasn't even straining to move that large amount of water. She was stretching the muscles in her wrist. Or at least, that's what it would've looked like if there hadn't been a stream of water, as thick around as Sokka's height, circling her. Her hand flicked, and the water rushed forward in her brother's direction.

Sokka was quick to react, allowing the energy of his arms to connect with the chi of the water, and he spun full circle, kneeling down as he spun so that when he was facing her and pushing up with his arms, the water followed, and froze in a large wave of ice right before it crashed over a, granted, _prepared_, Katara. He relaxed his muscles, stood up, and the water crashed to the ground. He had never felt more powerful then he was at that one moment. Flexing his fingers, he wondered what else he could do…

Katara let one of her eyebrows rise as her brother contemplated. She wondered what she would teach him next. He was a relatively fast learner. Then again, he had always wanted to be as powerful as a bender. It wouldn't be a surprise to her if he had actually been practicing waterbending forms before this. What could she teach him next? Drawing water from life around him? Drawing water from the air?... Drawing water from humans, or other conscious creatures?...

No. She would not teach him that. She refused to even let herself do that… To draw and control the water in another person… It was just a horrid thought. Katara shook herself, shoving the memory of Hama in a drawer deep in the back of her mind, right where it belonged. She would teach him what she could teach him for the time being. But she wouldn't be able to begin the complex things, such as healing, until much later. Much, much later. Sokka still relied on his emotions quite a bit for his power. He wasn't able to bend as well when he was content. He needed to either be angry, or have something to prove to somebody, or have lunar assistance to be able to bend anywhere near the level of Katara. But then again, when she was at that level in her bending, she was far below the level he was. He was already a lot stronger.

And that brought on even more thoughts. Would he grow to become an even better waterbender than she? Would he eventually become too much for her? Would the pupil surpass the teacher? She liked having this kind of power. The power of the mentor over the student… But as she shook herself mentally, again, she remembered that this was her brother that she was thinking about, and that it shouldn't matter. They were blood. Relatives. It didn't matter…

And so Katara took another stance, and began to practice with Sokka again. They had lots of work to do, and it would be easier to teach him the more complex forms when he had better control of water, and that was only granted if she made him extremely angry, in which he stormed off, or if she woke him up for the full moon… which was a lot easier, when she thought about it. Shaking herself of stray thoughts again, she reminded herself not to get so easily sidetracked as she pulled another form out of her repertoire. It was time to test her brother's limits.

* * *

Zuko muttered something about 'Too early,' and 'Leave me alone or I'll burn you alive…'

Aang poked him again.

Jumping up, Zuko glared at the smaller boy angrily. "AVATAR," he said, voice even angrier. "Go practice some lightning bending. Far away. VERY far away," he said, annoyed that he had been woken up. It was too early… He had stayed up late thinking to himself, and had barely gotten any sleep at all… You'd think that he would be used to getting no sleep by now, but sleeping on a rock surface rather than the plush Fire Nation noble beds was quite different. And difficult. He rubbed his eyes as Aang skipped away, slightly downcast, and after he heard the first loud crackle of lightning, he slowly made his way across the middle pagoda to the eastern structure. Meandering along to the pool, he splashed some of the (extremely) cold water on his face to wake him up. It worked quite well.

Glancing behind him, he saw Sokka on the opposite pagoda with his sister, twisting in their beautiful, dance-like forms, weight shifting with the water. Sokka was quite good at it too. From what Zuko saw, the boy was learning at a breakneck pace. It was almost as though he had been destined to be a bender. Which he, no-doubt, was. Zuko chuckled quietly to himself and turned back around. He looked around the eastern pagoda. It was actually quite boring. The middle structure had obviously been intended to be the main unit, but everything on all of the temples had been intricate. The prince had learned to ignore the intricacy of most things, because that was usually just a guise used to distract people… Such as the butterfly. The beauty of the wings, the way they were perfectly symmetrical, it was used to distract the predators long enough for them to escape…

Sighing and looking up, Zuko saw the bright sun burning a hole in the clouds, shining down on the scene of the Western Air Nomad's ultimate creation. He plastered on a slight scowl, and walked off, further away from the middle structure, mainly to think, but also so that he could warm up for the day. Finding a decent stone structure that seemed to be ugly enough to blast apart, Zuko settled into his bending stance, ready to destroy something. It's how he started every day. Practice made perfect, after all… And perfect was what was required to destroy Azula.

At the thought of Azula, Zuko opened his previously-closed eyes, spinning one foot around from behind him, straight down, so that a wave of blue flame consumed everything in front of him.

Ahhh, how good it felt to be bending again…

* * *

Sokka pulled himself through stance after stance. Katara had long gone to bed. He was now doing this on his own…

Well… not totally on his own. Toph had decided to… help… volunteering herself as a target. A target that fought back. Dodging yet another large rock, Sokka scowled and pull himself through ANOTHER offensive stance, pulling the water around him, then streaming it out above Toph and bringing it crashing down. The little blind girl erected an earthen dome from the ground around herself, and the water crashed over it, not a drop reaching her. She offered a smug smirk.

Sokka merely scowled.

He was pushing all of his thoughts to the back of his mind. He was hiding his feelings. He knew that he was most vulnerable to revelation when he was around Toph. She was practically psychic. The way she could detect your breathing and heart rate, whether your hands got clammy or not, the subtle differences between how you acted when around certain people and what they meant… she might as well have been a psychologist. Not that Sokka even knew what that was.

"Sokka!" A voice called out cheerily from the side, and the water tribe boy faltered slightly. Just enough for the rushing water to freeze where it was for a millisecond… Too long of a freeze. The thud of rock and Sokka's stomach was satisfying for Toph.

He gasped for air, and Zuko cringed. That one had looked quite painful. Sokka, on the ground, shot a withering glare in Zuko's direction, and Toph giggled maliciously from the other side of the pagoda. Zuko scowled and flicked a finger in her direction, a dart of flame flying through the air and burning one of her hair puffs, but nothing else. She gasped angrily, and, instead of fighting back, ran to the middle pagoda to her bag in search of another one. She was nothing without her hair puffs!

Sokka remained where he sat. His consistent scowl in Zuko's direction didn't relent. At all. Zuko sighed and closed his eyes, walking over as non-offensively as possible, so as not to accidentally provoke an angry explosion from the boy. When waterbenders got angry, their control over their element was dangerously astounding.

"I know you don't believe me…" Zuko half-whispered and half-muttered to the other boy. "And I know that you are angry at me…" he continued, but Sokka didn't ease up. "But I HAVE changed. And no dream of yours should get in the way of us. Because I know that I probably came on a bit strong, but I… I don't know. I like you. And I feel like we belong together. Somehow or another. If not as… as…" Zuko gulped… "A couple… then as combat partners." He offered a weak smile, hopeful that it was the former… and if not… then atleast the latter. Zuko needed to regain Sokka's trust… that is, if he had had it in the first place.

Sokka scowl didn't let up. His brow was set, jaw locked, but his mind was off in millions of directions. Zuko WAS sincerely sorry. Sokka was just being obstinate and stupid. As per norm. But Sokka could feel what Zuko was saying, what message he was trying to convey. With a deep breath, he shook his head in another direction and looked at Zuko. "Fine. But you have to take a rock to the stomach from Toph," he said it deathly serious, but both boys knew that Sokka was only joking.

From the middle pagoda they heard a voice yell. "DEAL!!"

Toph.

**Author's Note: Hahahaha… I thought that that was a fun way to end this chapter. Much lighter. Much less melancholy. In fact, I'm surprised that I was able to whip this off in maybe thirty minutes. Not bad for… hmm… two thousand words. Whoa. That's a lot. Lol. I just checked… But yeah. Please review and tell me what you think of this so far. I'm still working on where I am going to go with the more… political… side of this story. Fire Nation vs. Avatar and all that happy shit. :P W/e tho. REVIEW, please and thank you. I appreciate everybody who presses that periwinkle button, whether you wish to flame this, or whether you wish to rain praise. (Please, rain praise. ;D) Thank you for staying with me for such a long time! :)**

**Your loving loving author,**

**--Quinny**


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